My colostomy has given me back my life! I was miserable before. All my time was spent looking for a bathroom or being in one. I suffered horribly from fecal incontinence due to radiation treatment for anal cancer. I am extremely grateful that the option of having a colostomy even exists!
Rioa, i’m so happy to hear this. I have Colitis. I am electing to have my colon removed because I can’t do the cleanup anymore. I have frequent and urgent incontinence. I’m almost 70 and have tried biologics which were horrible. My appointment to even see the surgeon is not until November. I’m from Canada and we have long waitlists and limited doctors. It’s a big decision so your post is good news. I’m wondering if you have a pouch or a J pouch and if you have leak issues? Or skin issues? All the best to you!
@annpeters I have a double barrel ostomy. My ostomy has 2 openings. One for stool and one for mucus. Ok still have a rectum. I wear a closed end bag. I change everything almost daily. I’ve only had a few leaks in over 2 years. I am constantly checking for signs of leakage and change the bag as soon as it has anything in it. My skin has been very good. I don’t use many products. I keep it as simple as possible.I don’t use any special soap and I use wet wipes to clean up. I’ve been using Hollister products and have been happy with them. I put extender strips around the flange fort extra protection. I really think they’re helpful.
I have my ostomy bag for two months now and I’m getting used to it. It is true it’s a great inconvenience and gets a little depressing at times. Unfortunately I can’t be reconnected. But in trying to look on the bright side I’m 80 years old not 20.
I was wondering can anyone tell me how long it took before their stoma started shrinking and also how long before it stopped popping out.
Thank you
I have my ostomy bag for two months now and I’m getting used to it. It is true it’s a great inconvenience and gets a little depressing at times. Unfortunately I can’t be reconnected. But in trying to look on the bright side I’m 80 years old not 20.
I was wondering can anyone tell me how long it took before their stoma started shrinking and also how long before it stopped popping out.
Thank you
Im 86 and have had my surgery for two years My my stoma never disappears but it does get bigger and smaller A stoma nurse told me it swells when it is trying to push out stool
I have my ostomy bag for two months now and I’m getting used to it. It is true it’s a great inconvenience and gets a little depressing at times. Unfortunately I can’t be reconnected. But in trying to look on the bright side I’m 80 years old not 20.
I was wondering can anyone tell me how long it took before their stoma started shrinking and also how long before it stopped popping out.
Thank you
@pidge32 hi. I’m 80 and my stoma is two and a bit years old. I chose (agreed with surgeon, aamof) that I’d go for the permanent stoma option. I felt that gave me some ‘control’ in the matter. Good value and I used it to accept the little chap. There was six months of chemo which perhaps distracted me a bit from awareness of just how bizarre it all is.,
Two years on, I can say I’m pretty well normalised except i sometimes look down at it and think WTF? But then I put a new bag on and resume life. I take some meds which make me tired and dopey and would say that’s actually worse.
The stoma behaves very well as long as I don’t get sloppy. I have had only a few ‘accidents’ but they’ve been in private.
A grandson asked me “what comes out?” I said “poo” . He went away quite satisfied, bless him.
@pidge32 hi. I’m 80 and my stoma is two and a bit years old. I chose (agreed with surgeon, aamof) that I’d go for the permanent stoma option. I felt that gave me some ‘control’ in the matter. Good value and I used it to accept the little chap. There was six months of chemo which perhaps distracted me a bit from awareness of just how bizarre it all is.,
Two years on, I can say I’m pretty well normalised except i sometimes look down at it and think WTF? But then I put a new bag on and resume life. I take some meds which make me tired and dopey and would say that’s actually worse.
The stoma behaves very well as long as I don’t get sloppy. I have had only a few ‘accidents’ but they’ve been in private.
A grandson asked me “what comes out?” I said “poo” . He went away quite satisfied, bless him.
@piki I am 77 years old and have had a stoma since my colon removal 7 years ago. I at times had problems with leakage around the base plate until I started making the hole bigger in the base plate around my stoma. Now I don't seem to have any problems. I discovered if I drink beer or wine I get leaks more easily so I think the alcohol is melting the adhesive on the base plate so I am more careful about that now. My stoma protracts out every once in a while and I don't know why. Sometimes it happens if I am working hard and lifting heavy items. Other times it just does its own thing. In 3 o4 days it shrinks back to normal size. I empty 6 or 7 times a day. I change my bag every 4 days because going longer can cause leaks. Overall I am satisfied with the stoma but wish I didn't have it of course. It is better than the alternative of always feeling discomfort and pain in my lower abdomen from serious ulcerative colitis and never knowing if I would feel better again.
@piki I am 77 years old and have had a stoma since my colon removal 7 years ago. I at times had problems with leakage around the base plate until I started making the hole bigger in the base plate around my stoma. Now I don't seem to have any problems. I discovered if I drink beer or wine I get leaks more easily so I think the alcohol is melting the adhesive on the base plate so I am more careful about that now. My stoma protracts out every once in a while and I don't know why. Sometimes it happens if I am working hard and lifting heavy items. Other times it just does its own thing. In 3 o4 days it shrinks back to normal size. I empty 6 or 7 times a day. I change my bag every 4 days because going longer can cause leaks. Overall I am satisfied with the stoma but wish I didn't have it of course. It is better than the alternative of always feeling discomfort and pain in my lower abdomen from serious ulcerative colitis and never knowing if I would feel better again.
@fckaiser
Please explain what you mean by "making the hole bigger in the base plate". I have had leakage problems too. I was advised to be sure the baseplate fits close around the stoma, so very little skin is exposed. If you have had better results by exposing more skin I would like to learn more about that.
@fckaiser
Please explain what you mean by "making the hole bigger in the base plate". I have had leakage problems too. I was advised to be sure the baseplate fits close around the stoma, so very little skin is exposed. If you have had better results by exposing more skin I would like to learn more about that.
@dona46 I used to cut the hole for my stoma at 1.5" in diameter which fit snuggly around my stoma. I had some leakage problems so I increased the size of the hole to 1.75" and stretched the wax ring hole to fit the base plate. For some reason this helped with not having leakage problems any more. It would seem that making the hole bigger would increase leakage problems but it didn't. I don't know if the close fit on the stoma caused increased pressure on the adhesive on the base plate and led to leaks. It could be that when the stoma spasms as it does sometimes that it puts pressure on the adhesive. The looser fit helps that. My leaks are very minimal now. Hope this helps you. Give it a try and see.
Connect
Connect
Like
Helpful
Hug
@rioa21 As they say “you da man”
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@annpeters I have a double barrel ostomy. My ostomy has 2 openings. One for stool and one for mucus. Ok still have a rectum. I wear a closed end bag. I change everything almost daily. I’ve only had a few leaks in over 2 years. I am constantly checking for signs of leakage and change the bag as soon as it has anything in it. My skin has been very good. I don’t use many products. I keep it as simple as possible.I don’t use any special soap and I use wet wipes to clean up. I’ve been using Hollister products and have been happy with them. I put extender strips around the flange fort extra protection. I really think they’re helpful.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
5 ReactionsI have my ostomy bag for two months now and I’m getting used to it. It is true it’s a great inconvenience and gets a little depressing at times. Unfortunately I can’t be reconnected. But in trying to look on the bright side I’m 80 years old not 20.
I was wondering can anyone tell me how long it took before their stoma started shrinking and also how long before it stopped popping out.
Thank you
@pidge32 I'm 84 and I've had my stoma two years and it still shrinks and grows and is bigger and almost disappears regularly, Sorry.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionIm 86 and have had my surgery for two years My my stoma never disappears but it does get bigger and smaller A stoma nurse told me it swells when it is trying to push out stool
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@pidge32 hi. I’m 80 and my stoma is two and a bit years old. I chose (agreed with surgeon, aamof) that I’d go for the permanent stoma option. I felt that gave me some ‘control’ in the matter. Good value and I used it to accept the little chap. There was six months of chemo which perhaps distracted me a bit from awareness of just how bizarre it all is.,
Two years on, I can say I’m pretty well normalised except i sometimes look down at it and think WTF? But then I put a new bag on and resume life. I take some meds which make me tired and dopey and would say that’s actually worse.
The stoma behaves very well as long as I don’t get sloppy. I have had only a few ‘accidents’ but they’ve been in private.
A grandson asked me “what comes out?” I said “poo” . He went away quite satisfied, bless him.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions@alyner Loved that last line.
Well, we are a bunch of oldsters.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@piki I am 77 years old and have had a stoma since my colon removal 7 years ago. I at times had problems with leakage around the base plate until I started making the hole bigger in the base plate around my stoma. Now I don't seem to have any problems. I discovered if I drink beer or wine I get leaks more easily so I think the alcohol is melting the adhesive on the base plate so I am more careful about that now. My stoma protracts out every once in a while and I don't know why. Sometimes it happens if I am working hard and lifting heavy items. Other times it just does its own thing. In 3 o4 days it shrinks back to normal size. I empty 6 or 7 times a day. I change my bag every 4 days because going longer can cause leaks. Overall I am satisfied with the stoma but wish I didn't have it of course. It is better than the alternative of always feeling discomfort and pain in my lower abdomen from serious ulcerative colitis and never knowing if I would feel better again.
@fckaiser
Please explain what you mean by "making the hole bigger in the base plate". I have had leakage problems too. I was advised to be sure the baseplate fits close around the stoma, so very little skin is exposed. If you have had better results by exposing more skin I would like to learn more about that.
@dona46 I used to cut the hole for my stoma at 1.5" in diameter which fit snuggly around my stoma. I had some leakage problems so I increased the size of the hole to 1.75" and stretched the wax ring hole to fit the base plate. For some reason this helped with not having leakage problems any more. It would seem that making the hole bigger would increase leakage problems but it didn't. I don't know if the close fit on the stoma caused increased pressure on the adhesive on the base plate and led to leaks. It could be that when the stoma spasms as it does sometimes that it puts pressure on the adhesive. The looser fit helps that. My leaks are very minimal now. Hope this helps you. Give it a try and see.